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Heartsaver Hero awards presented

Posted February 14, 2008 10:00 pm

Meagan Sexton

Dellann Stutsman, an information service analyst, was working in Springfield at the Department of Revenue this past summer when another employee collapsed.

She had to use an automated external defibrillator to save his life.

"I help the nurse in the building on medical calls when she needs it," Stutsman said. "I got a phone call at my desk that an employee on the second floor was on the floor. I ran up, and it happened to be a person that I knew. They were starting CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) at the time. Our building is lucky enough to have a defibrillator. We shocked him and continued CPR. He's back at work now."

She saved two lives in 2007 using this piece of equipment.

Stutsman, who is also an Auburn emergency medical technician and volunteer firefighter, was honored Thursday by Lt. Gov Pat Quinn for her lifesaving efforts.

Quinn presented Heartsaver Hero awards to Stutsman and 39 other men and women during a press conference at the Capitol.

Springfield Fire Department first-responder Joe Higginson was among those honored along with Pekin first-responders Mike Hamilton and Randal Gordon.

"Automated external defibrillators are saving lives across Illinois and across the nation," Quinn said. "There are people standing in this room who would not be here today to tell their story if it weren't for an easily accessible AED and a quick-thinking Illinois citizen who knows how to use it. Cardiac arrest can strike anyone at anytime and we must be prepared."

On March 18, 2003, now-retired Peoria police officer Jack Baize suffered cardiac arrest while at the scene of a home invasion. Officers Ron Hill and Trish Taylor grabbed an AED from a nearby squad car and shocked Baize once before his heart started beating again.

In 1999, when now-retired Illinois State Police officer Bob Gomora collapsed in the parking lot of the ISP headquarters in Springfield, officers Hank Endzelis and Phillip Pohlman performed CPR until another officer, Gerry Garner, could use an AED to restore heart rhythm.

According to the American Red Cross Web site, the cause of sudden cardiac arrest is not well understood. Many victims have no history of heart disease, or if heart disease is present, it has not functionally impaired them. Unlike a heart attack, which is the death of muscle tissue from loss of blood supply, many victims of SCA have no prior symptoms. SCA can strike anyone, at any time, anywhere.

An AED is a device about the size of a laptop computer that analyzes the heart's rhythm for any abnormalities and, if necessary, directs the rescuer to deliver an electrical shock to the victim. This shock, called defibrillation, may help the heart to re-establish an effective rhythm of its own.

The Red Cross estimates that 50,000 people across the country could be saved if AED machines were more readily available.

Meagan Sexton can be reached at (217) 782-6882.

OTHER HEROES HONORED:

Peoria Park District: During the summer of 2006, Mike Smith, a maintenance supervisor with the Peoria Park District, had just finished dinner with co-worker Dave Whitley and Robert James, chief of the Peoria Park District Police, when he suffered cardiac arrest. Whitley and James called 911 and grabbed an AED from the back wall.

Peoria School District 150 Campus Police: Officer James L. Frost of the Peoria Park District was on patrol with Chief Robert James when they were called to Neumann Golf Course because of a possible heart attack. When they arrived, they found a man with no pulse. They started CPR and used an AED to shock the man's heart. The process took only four minutes and the man survived.

Sudden Cardiac Arrest

How common is SCA, and who is at risk?

SCA is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. It strikes more than 200,000 Americans each year; nearly one death every two minutes.

What is the current treatment?

The cardiac chain of survival is a series of four critical steps:

* Step one: Early access to care (calling 911 or another emergency number)

* Step two: Early cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)

* Step three: Early defibrillation

* Step four: Early advanced cardiac life support, as needed

The third step, delivering an electrical shock to the heart, which is known as defibrillation, is recognized as the most critical step in restoring cardiac rhythm and resuscitating a victim of SCA.

 

Source: American Red Cross

Quinn presented Heartsaver Hero awards to Stutsman and 39 other men and women during a press conference at the Capitol.

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